Names to know: Christine Lee, TELUS Digital

As a Senior Product Manager with TELUS Digital, Chistine Lee knows all about the groundbreaking digital initiatives that the TELUS team is constantly launching. In fact, TELUS’ innovation in digital was one of the things that attracted Christine to TELUS. We sat down with Christine and asked her what else led her to choose a career at TELUS and what working here has been like. Here’s what she had to say:

What do you do at TELUS?

Christine – As a Product Owner for the TELUS digital team, your job is to help the team and the company ship the right products to our customers. It’s a unique and challenging role that requires you to strike the right balance between delivering a great user experience, building a product that is technically feasible and providing business value through the product. The current applications I am working on include TELUS My Account and most recently, reimagining our business customers’ online experience.

One of the best parts of my job is having the chance to work alongside an extremely collaborative and talented team. The team has one goal and vision in mind and I believe that focus shows in the collaboration and creativity we put into the products we build.

How long have you been with TELUS? What drew you in? What helped you get here?

Christine – I’ve been at TELUS for almost two years now. I was drawn in by the strong Customer First reputation. Now, as an employee, I am still inspired by how, at an enterprise level, the company culture revolves around this mantra. I was also very intrigued by the TELUS digital labs and the lean approach the team was taking in the redesign of telus.com, which I learned about and followed through the digital labs blog.

In an ever-evolving technical field, how do you and your team stay up-to-date?

Christine – I believe if you enjoy what you do, whether it is product management, interaction design or software development, you find yourself reading relevant articles, blogs, books or watching videos in your spare time; not just for work but for your own enjoyment as well. Our team also shares our research and experiences through a series of “Get your lean on” sessions where a team member shares their knowledge on a topic of interest with the broader team. For example, we’ve had a few workshops where the entire team learned to build their own website – some of the results were hilarious!

How has Ladies Learning Code (LLC) impacted your experience in your role and, more generally, at TELUS?

Christine – I’m a big advocate for continuous learning and I love the change that LLC is driving for women in technology. In my career, I have personally benefited a lot from organizations and programs like LLC and I am excited that TELUS is supporting these efforts in increasing digital literacy.

That’s another benefit of being at TELUS. I am fortunate to work with a team that really fosters innovative thinking and change. The leadership team has set a foundation that facilitates this type of creative behavior and the team responds by continuously challenging the status quo and by looking for better digital solutions that our customers want.

If you could share one piece of advice with someone looking to work in your field, what would it be?

Christine – Get involved and build your own products. The best way to learn to be a digital Product Manager is to build something yourself. Having a stronger understanding of the tools the team uses and the language your team is speaking will make you a stronger Product Manager. It will also stretch your ability to build what the customer wants, which is the most important parts of the job.

Christine and her team help strengthen TELUS’s position as a digital innovator. We hope that her story resonates with up-and–coming digital leaders.